Owl City – Fireflies

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You would not believe your eyes
If ten million fireflies
Lit up the world as I fell asleep

'Cause they fill the open air
And leave teardrops everywhere
You'd think me rude but I would just stand and stare

I'd like to make myself believe that planet earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep
'Cause everything is never as it seems

'Cause I'd get a thousand hugs
From ten thousand lightning bugs
As they tried to teach me how to dance

A foxtrot above my head
A sock hop beneath my bed
A disco ball is just hanging by a thread (thread, thread)

I'd like to make myself believe that planet earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep
'Cause everything is never as it seems (when I fall asleep)

Leave my door open just a crack
Please take me away from here
'Cause I feel like such an insomniac
Please take me away from here
Why do I tire of counting sheep
Please take me away from here
When I'm far too tired to fall asleep

To ten million fireflies
I'm weird cause I hate goodbyes
I got misty eyes as they said farewell (said farewell)

But I'll know where several are
If my dreams get real bizarre
'Cause I saved a few and I keep them in a jar (jar, jar)

I'd like to make myself believe that planet earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep
'Cause everything is never as it seems (when I fall asleep)

I'd like to make myself believe that planet earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep
'Cause everything is never as it seems (when I fall asleep)

(I'd like to make myself believe that planet earth turns slowly)
(It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep)
(Because my dreams are bursting at the seams)

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Lyrics submitted by maxxa

Track duration: 03:48

"Fireflies" as written by Marc Edwin Allen, Nathan Barcalow, Derek Doherty, Alejandro M. Linares, Randy Strohmeyer

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Fireflies song meanings
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292 Comments

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  • 0
    My Opinion:Oh ya, also about the changes in life. To learn something new like dancing from the bugs. The different changes of life. Things in his room.
    Flag yukiyap04on May 15, 2013   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:The lifespan of fireflies is very short. That's why Adam would want to believe that the world turns slowly as its because once he sleeps, it seems like sleeping is a waste of time where it would be referring that time passes very quickly. When the fireflies light burns out after mating, they die. To sum it up, Life's short and time's precious
    Flag yukiyap04on May 15, 2013   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:I truly believe this will settle this it is insomnia and lucid dream debate. I think it is about how he suffers with insomnia and even when he sleeps he doesn't want to dream to his lucid dreams and how when he wakes up he misses his lucid dreams.
    Flag DLendisofRon April 23, 2013   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:A lot of people strongly believe this song is not about insomnia (really don't know why.) I have insomnia, and it sounds like that's what it's about to me. Especially the part about how the planet earth turns slowly. It certainly doesn't feel like that when you can't sleep. Every few minutes turns out to be hours and you start to panic because pretty soon it will be morning and you will be SO tired. And the more stressed you get, the more you can't sleep. Also, the part about being too tired to fall asleep seems to relate to this. You literally tire yourself out with the effort of falling asleep, but as I said, this only adds to your stress instead of bringing on sleep. Also, the dark sometimes starts to bother you (leave my door open just a crack) even though light makes it harder to sleep. I don't know, just my interpretation.
    Flag RosesAndRuffleson February 23, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i don't think other people are trying to actually understand this song. just cuz is says he feels like an insomniac doesn't mean he actually *is* one. i personally agree with SGITU
    Flagged drake360on January 23, 2013   Link
  • +3
    Song Meaning:This isn't a song about insomnia. Quite the opposite. The songs meaning is about lucid dreaming or astral projection which is one in the same. For those that have never experienced it, it is absolutely wonderful. The song translates to exactly to what one experiences. You see lights everywhere and yes they look like fireflies. The verse "It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep" Means that because the experience is so wonderful you want to be in that state all the time and stay asleep. I know this all sounds like BS, I would have said it a year ago myself. I'm a 41 yo construction worker that just recently started lucid dreaming, and it's changed my whole outlook on life. listen or read the song again, and look at it from a perspective of someone that just saw and experienced something great, loving and wholesome for the first time. Check out patch parables and expand your minds.
    Flagged SGITUon November 04, 2012   Link
  • -1
    General Comment:This song could very well be about his insomnia, as he was quoted as saying. Some signs may point a slightly different but related direction, though. Is it possible that he could be writing about an insomnia caused by hallucinogens? I believe so.
    Flagged pacman212on September 21, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:So this song is about isomnia.
    Flag coolioangelon August 28, 2012   Link
  • -1
    My Interpretation:Hey you got it too! Its something about pantheism, I think.
    Flag Johann4uon July 19, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Adam Young suffered from insomnia and many of his songs came from his experiences with not being able to fall asleep this song is one of these. This song is about not being able to fall asleep, and fireflies (there beauty and how they light up his world). I admire Adam Young so much he is my favourite artist and this is the first of his songs that I ever heard.
    Flag nejnejon June 26, 2012   Link

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